A two-year old report from Utah’s office of professional licensure found that to meet the current demand, Utah needs 8,000 more mental health workers. The same report said a lack of capacity in the state’s graduate programs has created a bottleneck to licensing more therapists.
Utah lawmakers say they have worked to lower some barriers to who can be licensed to practice in Utah.
House Speaker Mike Schultz said a recently passed strategic reinvestment bill for higher education might provide an opportunity to address existing needs in mental health education. The speaker said Utah Higher Education is going through a realignment, focusing on growing some programs and behavioral health is one of the biggest holes in the economy.
Another report presented to lawmakers last October focused on the lack of central oversight of various health systems in the state while an audit revealed 70 percent of Utah’s mental health workers are unavailable.